• Learn how to create effective strategy for B2B advertising
• Find out how your commercial strategy can be tweaked for B2B
• See how an awareness campaign can lift your company's industry presence and create new business relationships!

Depending on the industry you are in, B2B advertising can be a bit of an afterthought. Advertising direct to potential consumers in a retail environment is usually the primary focus of many advertising campaigns. However letting your industry know about your amazing products or services is a fantastic way of building up informed awareness and may even result in more clients being sent your way! What better way to do this than with a great display ad on your B2B network of choice? Read on to find out the best tips and tricks to increase your industry awareness. 

What is a B2B advertising display network?

Chances are you are already on several B2B networks, the most well known is LinkedIn. It's founded on the principle that networking doesn’t always have to be in person and can happen online at a time and pace that suits you. B2B isn’t just limited to LinkedIn, other types of B2B networking can be seen, but not limited to: company websites that usually target existing clients or employees, product supply and procurement exchanges such as warehouses, industry magazines or forums and brokering sites. You will have already seen B2B advertising campaigns on all of these. 

Some, more specialised industries also have information sites, providing important information relevant to their industries. A B2B network is vital for growth as no company can grow in isolation and can even result in loyal partnerships that can span decades and create iconic industry figureheads.

Is display advertising on a B2B network an effective strategy?

Yes, B2B display advertising is a great way to increase your industry presence and create further lead generation. You never know when a beneficial partnership or client can be struck by capitalising on your knowledgeable audience. For some services such as software or marketing services, B2B networks can already be your target market as opposed to more traditional B2C companies. 

Are there downsides to display B2B advertising?

While the potential benefits of B2B marketing are huge, there are a few things to consider. 

Smaller Markets

For many products and services the B2B market is smaller than their B2C target market. That doesn’t mean it's not worthwhile, just make sure you put in some research into all the options for your business in the B2B space. 

Sales are not a straightforward process

Another issue is that sales through the B2B space can take longer than in a traditional sales setting. This is largely because most companies will always prioritise their customers and potential customers first. Also B2B sales and deals have more factors and complications than a traditional sales transaction. Some patience is required when advertising in this space and while a fast turnaround is possible, it's not the norm. 

Your potential customer knows their power

In many B2B situations the shoe is often on the other foot. Unlike a B2C situation where the company sets the price, this is not always the case in B2B. Most companies will be aware of their bargaining power and use it to make sure they are getting the best deal. This means that a protracted sales process is often the case. This doesn’t mean it’s not beneficial for your business, it just might require more facetime and contact than a B2C sale. 

What are some tips on B2B Advertising?

Here are some great tips on how to use display ads for your B2B display advertising campaign. 

1. Have clearly defined campaign goals: A B2B display advertising campaign will have different aims than your traditional marketing campaign. If your number one goal is to achieve awareness then make sure your display ads are eye-catching and let the viewer know straight away what your product or service is. If it is conversion you are after, your CTA (Call to Action) needs to be persuasive and enticing. Also be aware of the metric you are paying attention to. If awareness is your goal, then impressions are the metric you need to pay attention to.  If you are hiring and want to advertise via a display ad (which is increasingly common) you will need to keep an eye on the number or applications you receive per job ad you advertise. Looking at traditional vanity metrics that don’t align with your goal is not effective and can lead you to think your campaign wasn’t successful.
2. Do a little research into what your competitors strategies are: Have a look at what your closest competitors are doing in the B2B space. Using the right tools such as AdClarity, can reveal a lot about your competitors' tactics. Look at their messaging, platforms and traffic sources. Can you deliver something unique that other competitors don't? You can also learn a lot by looking at your competitors' B2B campaigns. 
3. Identify the top platforms or publishers in your niche: Your target market will likely spend a lot of time on the ideal platforms not just advertising, but scoping out the competition. That's where you’ll want to be. In some cases you can contact the industry publisher and be able to negotiate through the platform rather than the now traditional route of going through an ad exchange. 
4. Get to know the targeting options in a B2B format: Chances are you know what targeting options are ideal for B2C advertising. That’s great but now try to apply this to your display advertising in a B2B format. You can use the Google Display Network for interest based targeting based on search results. The Microsoft Audience Network is also great at helping you target LinkedIn profiles based on industry or job. You will also need to scope out industry relevant publications as well. It is a little more work but worth it for awareness and reach. 
5. Get to know new types of display ad options: Options such as programmatic advertising and responsive ads if your budget allows. The amount of companies that are using these technologies as a B2B tactic is still it’s infancy. Now is the time to take advantage of these new options. Particularly as B2B networks are on the rise, you could be seen as market leader by embracing some of these new technologies. However if you don’t really have an idea there are many providers and ad exchanges that can help you. 
6. Make sure you have multiple devices targeted in your strategy: Mobile devices are more frequently used than other devices on the Web these days. Make sure when you are targeting using your  B2B display ad networks you are targeting more than one device and your advertisement will look great in a mobile device format and a more traditional desktop computer. Also video ads are a great way to develop more impressions and are generally more successful than static images. This is a great way to maximise your display ad’s awareness and reach. 
7. Be aware your potential customers on B2B networks know your industry well: The story you tell in your B2B advertising needs to be relevant and authentic. Industry insiders will not like feeling like they are seeing smoke and mirrors. However things like customer testimonials and a solid web and social media presence will wonders for your credibility in a B2B space. 

Source: Shopper advertisment on Mumbrella 

What are the best platforms for B2B display advertising?

We will run through the top 3 places for B2B display advertising. However B2B is not limited to these three platforms and more strategies are being discovered all the time. 

Google Display Network (GDN)

While it is not automatically considered a B2B marketing space, you can run effective B2B campaigns on the GDN. The most effective method of marketing is usually placing your display ads on Youtube. It's also great for remarketing and topic targeting. 

Pro-tip: for a B2B campaign, don’t use automatic placements. You will need to be more selective with your ad placements than a B2C campaign. This is crucial as poor placement can be damaging to your credibility. 

Facebook

The social media giant often has an advantage over sites such as the GDN in that your page will likely have an industry aligned audience for a display ad campaign. However you can also go beyond your already established audience and target via geographic targeting, interest targeting and age specific targeting to name a few. You can also match the existing customers numbers and emails to people on Facebook when creating a custom audience. Targeting users based on their job description or employer is also an option. 

Pro tip: when it comes to B2B on social media you don't want to urge your potential customers to buy straight away. In this case an awareness campaign that sends the customers to your website where they will enter their email address would be best. You can build on your relationships from there. 

Attribution: MYOB software ad on LinkedIn

LinkedIn 

These days Linkedin has a great variety of options for a B2B campaign. However their display ad campaigns are very effective for building industry awareness.  It’s worth putting the work in to understand the types of LinkedIn ads available and how they can work for your business. LinkedIn has slightly different requirements in asset size and character limits so your campaigns may need to be tweaked slightly. Videos are very effective on this B2B platform so it's worth the time and financial investment.  If you don’t have articles or blogs that you share with your followers, now would be time. Display ads are fantastic but you need content to remind customers you are there. 

Pro tip: The LinkedIn Insight tag is a fantastic way to collect information about viewers of your website. This technology has JavaScript code that you can add to your site. It can collect information about visitors that click in from LinkedIn. Information such as job titles,URL, IP device and browser. This will help inform your target audience in future display ad campaigns creating further success. 

If you are wanting to dive into the world of B2B display advertising and are still a bit unsure there are plenty of services available that can help you make this transition .  Be aware that it will take a longer amount of time to see results from your B2B campaign than a traditional campaign. Once you are a whiz at B2B marketing you will enjoy a strong industry presence and awareness as well as new business relationships that can further your business long term.